The First Instalment By Lin Grahame

Hip Blog- Dancing with Arthritis |The Fit Arthritic/Dancing Elder | Ceramic and Metal hips.

My Arthritis Story started a long time ago, in fact it probably started before I was born.  It was passed down through generations of people who had the mindset, diet and lifestyle to suffer it.

This is My darkness, My challenge.  My gift

Saved up and passed

Through the lines

Of people who bent to the will

Of their others, their children, their kith and their kin.

No words ever spoken

Unwritten rules

Swallowed and locked

In the joints.

Kept them half shut, hidden and cowed

Unable to open and reach for the sky,

This is my darkness, My Challenge, My Gift

To Change.

To leave resentment behind and feel loved!

The Catalyst for Change

I discovered Dance in my late 20’s.  Too late to do any serious training but that did not stop me doing all that I could!  It was not any kind of dancing, but Contemporary Dance Class to be precise.  I became fascinated by the pioneers such as Martha Graham, Ruth St Dennis and Ten Shawn and Margaret Morris.  I thought that the grace and ease of movement dancers possessed was down to three things.  Training, good joints and good alignment. Me I had none of these things but only determination and love.  Also, what I didn’t know then, was that I had arthritis!   I always had tight hips and put it down to my late start to training and dance class.  There were some moves and shapes that I could not make or do due to this inflexibility although I became more flexible the more classes I did.

Bringing the story for the moment to present day or more precisely, eight years ago.  In 2010 I had my right hip replaced.  I kept a dairy of that journey and can compare with the present day, because eight years on, I have just had my left hip replaced.  Both knees are dodgy!  I also am sure I have arthritis in my shoulders and spine. But I dance on!!

“To Dance is to Live this Life to the Full

And from the Heart to Give its Direction and Rule

Martha Graham”

The NHS in 2010, was not quite as poorly as it is today and I was quite swiftly seen by a consultant.

From first going to my General Practitioner the process took about 8 months or for the comparison with the present, 32 weeks.  I had the operation in the summer.

The timing was all important to me because the summer is the best time for me to take time off work. I do not teach a full term of Pilates classes during July and August.  I could plan my work around it easily and not lose too much money.  This was possible because at that time the NHS was using the private Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow to ease the waiting times for joint replacements.

The consultant was able to tell me how long it would be after the initial consultation until the operation.   I was very lucky and was looked after well.

I had my right hip replaced at The Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow by Mr. David Allen on the 21st June 2010, midsummer.

I was in the hospital for two nights after the operation and after minimal physiotherapy in the form of stair walking I went home.  The operation was done by the posterior incision which meant that I could not bend forward at the hip for six to eight weeks.

I took arnica 30 for a day before the operation and rescue remedy afterwards. I also used the Aura Soma pink pomander.

The Pomander can be used for daily auric (aura) cleansing. By placing three drops, or one spray, of these naturally fragranced coloured essences on our hands and moving them through the electro-magnetic field that surrounds our body, our aura, we can create a delicate energy matrix around ourselves.

This allows the positive energies to enter our energy field and protects us from energies we do not want. The colours of our aura change in accordance with our mood and environment. The Pomanders help to protect and maintain the integrity of the electro-magnetic field, so by taking the time to balance the energies surrounding us, we may feel tension being released.

Each Pomander may introduce the positive energies of the colour to which it relates, Pink may bring us the experience of love, warmth and caring whereas Turquoise may help us communicate our feelings from the heart. When people say ‘You’re positively glowing’ – this is when your aura is cleansed.

The original meaning of the word Pomander is a collection of herbs for purifying, healing and giving protection. Vicky Wall, the founder of Aura-Soma, who created the first Aura-Soma Equilibrium bottles, Pomanders and Quintessence’s used the term Pomander in a more encompassing manner describing their function as a protection at an energetic level rather than at a physical level.

The lending and energising of the herbs, plant extracts and the energies of crystals within the coloured Pomanders may help produce an energetic balance within the subtle bodies.

#02  Pink
Just for love
For Universal Unconditional Love, the warmth and caring that makes everything possible in our life. Emotionally pink brings love, both for ourselves and for those around us. It may be supportive at times when we feel vulnerable and to help us to care for ourselves. Brings about a deep sense of relaxation, harmonises groups and their processes.

I have never looked back as far as that hip is concerned and since 2013 have been dancing even moreI had little or no visible bruising and recovered well.  I remember a slight problem with low blood pressure the day after. I remember feeling very blessed because of the great accommodation at Jubilee hospital and the success of the operation.

My right hip is fabulous and seems in many ways better than it was before!  It took a long time to get back full strength and days were sometimes up and sometimes down but overall, I did exactly as I was told and did exercises to regain strength and mobility and was dancing again by December.

Exercises in a swimming pool or swimming itself were recommended although there was some doubt about the leg movements in breast stroke.  I walked with two sticks for a few weeks, then one for a further few weeks.  I consulted a physiotherapist about getting up and down to the floor and was teaching Pilates by the October.

This was exactly on schedule for my autumn term.  The NHS did not provide access to a physiotherapist.  For that I had to go privately.

There was a resident physiotherapist at my local general practitioners’ surgery but he would not take me on without a letter from the surgeon.  The private physiotherapist was quite happy to help me although I am sure a discussion with the surgeon would have been welcome had it been possible.